Pandora
“Innocents scream. Souls burn. Worlds die. Evil prevails. Such is the will of the Pandora to kill and destroy, without sentience or without meaning.” The Pandora are a race of Nether-based life-forms that are found throughout the Empyrean System and originate from a mysterious eldritch dimension known only as The Abyss. They seem to have connections to the Precursors, are enemies with the Azurans, and are the primary universal antagonists of Elysian Knights. Appearance Pandora can take on a wide variety of shapes and sizes, from humanoid monstrosities to animalistic abominations, or perhaps something even more horrific. Their hides are mainly black (sometimes dark grey) with some very dark green in the mix and glowing green eyes. They emit an aura of black particles. Instead of dark green, Alphas and Omegas are mostly black with dark teal and dark purple respectively. Instead of light green light, the colors of Alphas’ eyes can be various shades of blue, and the same with Omegas but with purple. Angels are very similar to Azuran species in appearance, but with pale skin, visible black veins, black scleras with white pupils that can be a different color depending on the Angel, and wings and a halo over their heads, both made of nether. Physiology The Pandora lack any internal organs present in most living creatures, and can live without needing to eat, drink, sleep, or anything non-Pandora require. They also do not age and have corrosive black blood. At the center of their chests (or other spots for some species) is a soul-like orb of Nether known as a phylactery. This phylactery all Pandora have allows them to regenerate from virtually anything unless it is destroyed. A curious property is that if a phylactery were to be artificially removed from its host Pandora and somehow transplanted into the body of another creature, even a fellow Pandora, they themselves with briefly transform ''into ''Pandora themselves before disintegrating instantly. If a Pandora were to be artificially granted a phylactery from a different one however, it will instead ''absorb ''the foreign body part and become larger and stronger, before they too will eventually die. Also don’t have any genitalia. Naming Conventions Each species of Pandora (excluding Alphas, Omegas and Angels) is named after a noun with negative connotations (also includes nouns that have/can have both a neutral AND a negative connotation and synonyms of said noun). Not a verb, adjective or adverb, but a noun. Proper nouns and occupational nouns are normally excluded, yet Alphas, Omegas and Angels can *still* be named after the former. One species of Pandora cannot have multiple names. Each species has their own unique name. Behavior All Pandora share the insatiable hunger for the essence known as Ether, which can be found all over the Empyrean System. They regularly flock to locations with high amounts of Ether to consume it and infest places devoid of any humans. They will also actively hunt down and kill living beings for their souls as they contain Ether. Most species of Pandora will roar, screech or shriek at their enemies before attacking, presumably to intimidate them. They are also well-known for attacking places populated with humans, such as cities, towns, villages, etc. Pandora attacks are unpredictable and happen entirely at random, but it is more common for Pandora to strike areas heavily populated with Arcanes or areas that are at their most vulnerable, either from natural causes, man-made disasters, or from general disorder. A rather curious trait is that Pandora will infest abandoned Precursor structures or even destroy them on some occasions. They are also extremely hostile to Precursor Sentinels, attacking and destroying them on sight despite there being no particular reason to do so. Another strange aspect is that Pandora will not attack those who practice Apollyonism (the worship of Pandora), and will instead either ignore them or fight alongside them in battle. They will also completely ignore any being that lacks a soul, as due to the fact that they only attack living creatures to absorb their souls, then they have no reason to attack soulless beings. However, they *will* retaliate if said soulless being attacks them first. They have also been known to set up large nests within areas devoid of light, where they will lie in wait to ambush passing creatures. Whenever a commanding type of Pandora (Alpha, Major or Angel) is in danger, numerous other non-commanding will immediately swarm to that commanding Pandora’s position to protect them, regardless of where that particular Pandora is located. This behavior is consistent with many observations of Pandora defending commanding members of their species, even, in some cases, sacrificing themselves for them. Pandora will also *never* attack any other Pandora for any reason, not even an Alpha will purposefully attack another one, showing a clear sense of unity between the species. Powers & Abilities All Pandora emit an invisible aura that drains the life out of every non-animal or sapient organism, destroys microbes and physically weakens non-Pandora humanoids and animals. Their presence also disables electricity, shuts off light sources and exceptionally large numbers of Pandora can cause gravitational distortions and the formation of necromite crystals and nether fissures, as well as rocks or rock-like materials to become more fragile and a substance known as Nether Corrosion to grow on various surfaces, which Pandora can emerge from. They can also poison water with nether on mere contact and cause some metals to rust. All Pandora also have the ability to absorb nearly limitless amounts of ether and the souls of people they have killed. When they have absorbed a sufficient amount, they will either mutate into a different (and stronger) Pandora species or multiply. When a Pandora has not absorbed any ether for a signifigant amount of time, they will submerge into the ground and fall into a motionless, unconscious, coma-like state and will only wake up if any sources of ether are nearby. Eventually, after absorbing too much ether, a Pandora will transform into an Alpha (see the types of Pandora below). Pandora can also travel to different locations via “breaches”, which are space-time rifts of pure nether which can appear as either cracks or swirling discs. Individual species of Pandora can also have abilities unique to them, such as nether manipulation, fire breath, mind control and more. All Pandora are also incapable of feeling pain. Occasionally, some Pandora are capable of manipulating some aspects/elements of nature such as fire, water, ice, lightning, etc, however these are usually certain Alphas and Angels. Pandora can also sense the nearby souls of living beings, and can even “see” them when close enough to a target. They also have the ability to smell fear, and are able to draw strength from the strong negative emotions of their victims, using them to increase their physical strength, aggressiveness and their various other supernatural powers. A peculiar trait is that while they do not have any need for food, lower types of Pandora such as Spawns will sometimes devour the corpses of those they’ve killed. There is no known reason for this behavior. As stated above in the Physiology section, Pandora have corrosive, nether-infused pitch-black blood with highly corrosive properties and the ability to regenerate from anything and reform completely even if nothing of their bodies remains. They have phylacteries, souls of nether which can be found within their chests. (In most cases) If the phylactery is destroyed, the Pandora will disintegrate and melt into a puddle of their own blood and will not be able to regenerate no matter what. Pandora can also be temporarily incapacitated if the phylactery is simply damaged. Also, due to their regeneration, Pandora are completely immune to physical damage from fire or other corrosive substances. One curious thing is that when a Pandora dies, a bellflower will grow from their remains. It is unknown as to how or why this happens. Even stranger is that the bellflower contains the residual genetic makeup/genes or “essence” of that particular Pandora. Types of Pandora Different species of Pandora are also categorized into different types/classifications. Spawn-Type Spawn-Types are the weakest and most common of the Pandora, often seen on the front lines during Pandora attacks. Most of them follow a pack mentality and are incapable of sentient or intelligent thought, motivated only by pure, simple-minded instinct. Spawns can take on a wide variety of forms and can have a wide variety of abilities. The 7 most common of the Spawn-Type Pandora are Wrath, Envy, Greed, Gluttony, Pride, Lust and Sloth. Elite-Type Pandora that are significantly stronger and less common than Spawns. Most take on a humanoid shape, (though there are exceptions) and some are even capable of summoning weaponry made of nether. They have some basic levels of intelligence and operate mainly in small groups, but otherwise are still as aggressive as Spawns. The most common Elites are Slaughter, Murder, Execution, Assassination, Voracity, Homicide and Anguish. Siege-Type Siege-Type Pandora are far bigger and more durable than both Spawns and Elites, and are highly aggressive and destructive. Some species can have special abilities, but most just use their brute strength. Siege-Types also share the ability to spawn swarms of Spawn Pandora to aid them via emitting black smoke from their bodies. Rage are the most common Siege-Types. Major-Type Majors act as the commanders of Pandora hordes. They are far more intelligent and powerful than Spawns, Elites and Siege Pandora, and have the ability to communicate telepathically with other members of their species. Majors are rarely seen on the battlefield, and when they do appear are usually accompanied by less-powerful types of Pandora rather than other Majors. Majors are usually named after words such as Cruelty, Villainy, Sin, Vice, Evil, Malevolence, etc. Goliath-Type Goliath-Type Pandora are towering monstrosities, much more enormous in height than even Siege-Types and unable to be controlled by Majors. They are the size of tall buildings or bigger, and some species have even known to take the form of ships and spawn weaker Pandora. Their phylacteries are a massive amalgam of smaller phylacteries, and they are nigh-invincible. Goliaths have only ever been seen in large Blight Zones, deep in the Abyss and major wars. Alpha-Type Alpha-Type Pandora (also known as Devil-Type) are the supreme commanders of the entire Pandora species, having a distinct black and blue coloration rather than black and green like normal Pandora. They are capable of commanding even Majors and Goliaths, and have remarkable intelligence surpassing that of even Majors, showing even distinct characteristics and personalities. Unlike all other kinds of Pandora, Alphas are not separated into different species as each one is different than the other, each with their own unique appearance and abilities. Alphas are capable of creating sub-dimensions within the Abyss for a base of operations, and can create Pandora from thin air. They can also emit limitless amounts of Nether, reanimate their victims into zombies, transform any lesser form of Pandora into anything they desire, teleport and even have some psionic powers, and their life-draining auras are far more powerful, being able to instantly kill not just plants, microbes and fungi, but also animals and non-Arcanes within miles. Unlike Goliaths, Alphas do not appear in Blight Zones and are rarely seen in the Abyss, only making an appearance in massive wars or deep in their Abyssal lairs. Most Alphas also have multiple phylacteries. The presence of a single Alpha along is also enough to cause major gravity distortions, disable all electronics, large necromite deposits and nether fissures to form and all water to turn black with poison across miles. Thankfully, their appearance is always heralded by the sky turning a deep blue clouds turning pitch black and a huge black orb appearing where they’re going to be a few minutes or hours before they actually arrive, giving enough time for the area to be evacuated while some of the toughest and most powerful Arcanes in Athena Blade repel the beast. Alphas are named after proper nouns unlike regular Pandora, such as Mjolnir, Abeloth, Amatsu-Mikaboshi, Fafnir, Agares, etc. They usually follow a naming theme of demons, monsters from myth or folklore, evil rulers or malevolent deities. Omega-Type Omegas are the rarest and most atypical of all Pandora. They are black and purple and like Alphas are not divided into different species and are named after proper nouns. They cannot command other Pandora and cannot even communicate with them through any means. Perhaps the most interesting thing about Omegas is that they are fully sapient and not ruled by the instinct to consume all life and ether like all other Pandora. They also have distinct personalities, and even possess the ability to speak. As stated above, Omega-Type Pandora are EXTREMELY rare in nature, and it is unknown as to how they come to be. Only three Omegas in history have ever been recorded. Enigma-Type The Enigma-Type classification is simply for Pandora that are greatly distinct from any other category, or have not been observed enough for sufficient data to be acquired to place them in another category. Usually, Enigma-Types are solitary species of Pandora that are often not seen with other types, even avoiding contact with other Pandora in some instances. Enigma-Types are usually found in the wild, either roaming around or hunkering down in nests. Vermin-Type Sometimes this classification is merged with Spawn-Type, sometimes it’s a sub-category of Spawn-Type, other times it‘s its own category. The Vermin-Type classification is for Pandora that are very small and weak but numerous in numbers. Servile Pandora Servile Pandora are not true Pandora. They do not possess phylacteries and do not have a lot of the abilities normal Pandora have, such as portal creation, corrosive blood, ether absorption, regeneration, etc. not even names. Servile Pandora do not appear naturally, and instead can only be spawned by certain species of Pandora, most commonly Siege-Types. Servile Pandora that are summoned by certain Alphas are known as Betas, and can command lesser species of Pandora such as Majors, Elites, Spawns, etc. Betas also have a distinct blue-green color. Angels *CLASSIFIED* Blight Zones and Shards of Ruin Blight Zones are areas in the Empyrean System that have become infested with Pandora, rendering them inhospitable deadzones. Plants, microbes and even animals cannot survive in Blight Zones, and humans can barely even breathe. When Blight Zones become big enough, they will begin to slowly expand across the landscape, increasing the size and range of the zone as formations known as Nurseries will form from necromite crystals, which will spawn in new Pandora without limit. The most curious thing is that a mysterious gemstone known as a Shard of Ruin will also form in the center of the Blight Zone, and will begin to grow, increasing in size and power as the surrounding Pandora will defend it with their very lives. When a Shard of Ruin has fully formed, it will resemble a towering spire of black crystal that causes any non-Pandora life form which goes near it to either die or go insane. Fully-formed shards can also empower all the nearby Pandora, making them nigh-invincible, and generate a special form of Ether for them to feed off of. Majors and Alphas can also tap into the power of a fully-formed Shard of Ruin to cause mass death and destruction on a cosmic scale, and if a Shard were to be severely damaged, it will explode, killing everything within hundreds of miles and allowing Pandora to spread their claimed territory even further. The Shard of Ruin can also cause any and all Angel Hosts across a wide radius to transform into Angels, and also during Shard-empowered Pandora attacks. History Long ago, before the dawn of humanity on the planet Azura, there were a race of powerful beings known as the Malakhi, or as they would come to be known as, the Precursors. The technology of the Precursors was incredibly advanced to the point of having supernatural properties, making them virtual gods. The Precursors lived in the realm of Calamandra, an Ether-filled dimension which could be accessed from normal space through a gigantic swirling mass of Ether, energy and gas known as the Empyrean. Said Empyrean’s strong gravitational pull drew many small planets and even dwarf stars into its orbit, creating the initial Empyrean System. The Precursors terraformed the once barren worlds into what they were today, and granted each one a singular ‘sun’ which orbited around it. Life then began to flourish on the various worlds of the system, and it would then be populated by hundreds of different alien species, all of which under control and enslaved by the Precursors, who built the mechanical Sentinels to keep the various races in line. One such race was the Draugor of the planet Rin. The Draugor were divided into two major clans: the Pandaru and the Agranora, both of which were at constant war with one another. The Draugor also directly fed off of the mystical Ether in order to thrive, which was only supplied by the Precursors to keep them in line. However, order would not be maintained for long, as the once warring clans joined together to rebel against their masters, and soon then began gathering other weak races to aid them. However the revolt was ultimately crushed when the Precursors fired one of their most powerful weapons: the Seraphim Chorus, which obliterated many of the rebelling fleets and alien cities. They then turned their attention to the source of the rebellion: the Draugor, and imprisoned them in an ancient dimension known as the Abyss and left to die/fend for themselves. However, as an unintended side effect of launching the weapon, the atmosphere of the planet Azura became irradiated by a stray Chorus projectile which detonated early, causing the main inhabitants, the Draylons and Neanderthals to exhibit strange mutations, in the Draylons’ case being born with a wide variety of traits and developing strange magical powers, and in the case of the Neanderthals, transforming into the first Homo Sapiens and manifesting their own supernatural abilities, as well as other physiological deformities. The Precursors took an interest into the two now empowered races and began incorporating them into their military ranks. As for the imprisoned Draugor, their once great race was on the verge of death as they were stranded in the eldritch void. One of their seers sensed a great power radiating from the center of the Abyss, and a team of six of the strongest Draugor were sent to find it. Perhaps this powers could help them escape this horrible place. .....however, instead of finding a source of power, they discovered the ancient Riven, the original inhabitant of the Abyss and the only one of its kind. Intrigued by the new residents of his home, Riven asked the Draugor why they had come here. The aliens explained everything which led up to their incarceration in this place, and then, much to the God-Demon’s surprise, the lesser beings got down on their knees and *begged* for it (Riven) to not only save their race, but liberate all the inhabitants of the Empyrean System from the control of the Precursors. Intrigued, Riven agreed to aid them. Perhaps this could finally quench the boredom it’d been feeling for thousands of years. And so, Riven granted dark powers to the Draugor, which transformed them into dark beasts of Nether like itself, more of its own species, to which Riven now decided to brand as the infamous Pandora, with the six who had come to it becoming the very first Alphas. Riven then tied the Pandora’s existence to the Abyss itself, meaning that new Pandora would constantly spawn from it and every Pandora that had fallen would eventually be reborn in it. The Pandora emerged from the depths of the Abyss and attacked Calamandra directly, decimating the Precursors and reducing their numbers. They soon began attacking all the Precursor installations on the other worlds as well, but they retaliated with their most powerful weapons, Arcanes and Draylons. As the Pandora’s numbers began to dwindle, one of their Alphas, Kaarst, called upon the aid of Riven, and aided it did. The God-Demon‘s form appeared over the entire Empyrean System, enveloping it in its shadow. Every Arcane and every Draylon who dared to resist the might of the Pandora were bent to their will; chosen by Riven to become one of their most powerful and destructive agents: the Angels of the Pandora. With the Angels, Riven’s army regained the upper hand against the Precursors, but the Alphas were soon shocked to discover that some of the other alien races were coming to their aid. It was now the entirety of the Empyrean System against the Pandora. An alien race known as the Alaphion deployed a “mind-virus” against the horde, rendering any Pandora who was infected free of the desire to kill and consume Ether, but left them unable to interact with their kin, thus creating the very first Omega-Type Pandora. All the races then pooled their efforts to construct the Cleansing Lance, a superweapon designed specifically to destroy godlike Pandora with a single blast. They raided the Abyss and fired it at Riven itself. Admired by their attempt to destroy it, Riven took the blow and was mortally injured by the weapon, plunging further and further into its home as a result, although it reality it had failed to kill it. This only angered and emboldened the rest of the Pandora, who began increasing their efforts to destroy their enemies, all the while Riven merely watched from the very bottom of the Abyss. Soon enough, many races began to fall from their rampage. Two new Angels: Hephaestus and Raguel - who controlled technology and had nullification powers respectively - were born and devastated the more technologically advanced species. The Alaphion homeworld was completely overrun, and the first Shard of Ruin was fully formed, granting even more power to the already vigorous Pandora. One by one, all the other races of the once plentiful Empyrean System perished in their attempts to survive the Pandora’s ravenous fury. Not even the Precursors with their incredibly advanced technology could hope to stand against them now. Shortly before the last of their kind was slain, the Precursors activated their most powerful megaweapon: the Might of the Dying Star, which detonated right in the center of the Empyrean System and utterly obliterated all of the Pandora on all of the worlds they had infested, but in turn also destroying everything on those worlds as well. The only reason the humans, demihumans and draylons of Azura were able to survive - along with all the fauna on the other worlds - was because that the Precursors had put them all in temporal stasis which protected them from the blast, a stasis that only abated when all of the planets had healed from the weapon. Such a blast also greatly weakened the Pandora and drastically reduced their numbers, forcing them to retreat back into the Abyss. And so, the Precursors too were extinct. All but three races across the whole system had fallen to the Pandora. The only evidence of their existence were the various ruins on the dozens of worlds and the Sentinels they left behind. The races of Azura were all alone in their struggle against the Pandora, who had already began wiping species of demihumans and even the Draylons into extinction. Now, it was only the humans and the few demihumans who remained. Alone, but united, the tragedies of the ancient past would be lost to the seas of time as they continue their endless fight against their great and old enemy: the Pandora. Trivia * They take inspiration from the Grimm from RWBY, as well as a bit of the Hive and Taken from the Destiny franchise and the Honkai from Honkai Impact 3. * The Angels, however, take heavy inspiration from the Herrschers from Honkai Impact 3. * The Pandora went through many revisions and had many different names before eventually becoming the Pandora. * They also take inspiration from a scrapped race I had known as the Twisted. * Some Pandora will occasionally twitch and jerk, a trait which is shared by the Taken from Destiny. * Lower types of Pandora (Spawns, Elites, Sieges and Goliaths) are not actually acting out of pure malice, as they lack the mental capacity to have morals. Rather their desire to kill, destroy and absorb Ether is simply out of pure instinct to pursue their primary source of nourishment and follow the purpose which they were created for. However Major-Types do have some sense of morality, but are only *partially* acting on evil. The instincts are largely still there. It is the Alphas and Angels that are behaving purely out of conscious, malicious intent and cruelty, yet still, neither types are actually evil by choice. Category:Glitchee123z Category:Races Category:Legendverse Races Category:Elysian Knights Races Category:Villains Category:Factions Category:Legendverse Factions Category:Elysian Knights Factions Category:Legendverse Terminology Category:Elysian Knights Terminology Category:Terminology Category:Species